The Haunted School
by chilled monkey
Summary: Hibino hears about an abandoned school that's supposedly haunted. He decides to investigate, much to Ichijou's displeasure.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own "Hareluya II Boy. It is owned by Umezawa Haruto. No profit is being made from this story.

* * *

"Move it Ichijou! You're holding Ore-sama up" Hibino complained as he and Ichijou made their way down the street at a brisk walk.

"What's the hurry? The restaurant's not going anywhere" Ichijou pointed out.

"What's the hurry? Are you even stupider than Ore-sama thought?" Hibino snorted. "What if they run out of okonomiyaki before we get there?"

"That's never happened before."

Before Hibino could reply a familiar voice called out, "Yoh!"

They stopped walking. Just in front of them was Yamana. She was at her usual spot with a blanket on the ground on which she displayed the latest items of silver jewellery she'd made.

"Hi Yamana" said Ichijou. "Sorry, I hadn't realised we'd come so far."

"Yes I saw how quickly you were walking" she replied with an amused smile. "Eager to get to the restaurant Hibino?"

He snorted again. "Well I suppose we can stop for a bit then."

Ichijou studied the jewellery items on the blanket curiously. "Those are new" he commented, pointing to some necklaces. Each one consisted of a five pointed star inside a circle. Yamana was wearing one herself. "What are they?"

"It's called a pentacle" she explained. "It's an ancient symbol of balance and protection."

He nodded. "I like it."

"Thanks."

"So would you like to come with us?"

"Sorry but I can't" she replied with an apologetic smile. "After I finish up here I promised Natsumi I'd help her with a presentation."

"Maybe we could help…"

"Yes that's very nice of you Yamana" Hibino hastily interrupted. "Good luck with it. Now we need to be going." With that he started dragging Ichijou away.

"See you guys tomorrow" she called after them.

"See you" Ichijou called back.

She giggled as they disappeared around a corner.

* * *

Hibino and Ichijou made it to the okonomiyaki restaurant and were soon enjoying their food. As they ate Ichijou overheard some guys talking at a nearby table.

"I'm telling you I saw it."

"Look maybe it was a car's headlights or something."

"No way, it was just floating in mid-air."

 _Hibino won't hear anything_ Ichijou thought hopefully. _He's so busy stuffing himself he won't pay any attention to…_

"What was floating in mid-air?" Hibino asked, having finished his last helping in time to notice the conversation.

"Last evening I snuck into the abandoned Tokugawa school" said the guy who'd spoken first. "I saw a hitodama floating right there in front of me. You know, a blue fireball. I ran as fast as I could and didn't stop until I made it home."

Ichijou sighed as Hibino's eyes lit up. Later as they were leaving he decided to at least try to talk him out of it.

"Hibino, I have a concert tonight. I can't dump that just to go ghost-hunting."

"That's fine, Ore-sama has plans for tonight as well. We'll go tomorrow evening."

 _Good. Maybe he'll have forgotten this whole thing by tomorrow._

* * *

His hopes were dashed the next day at school when he saw Hibino talking to Yamana in the corridor.

"Last night Ore-sama and Ichijou heard a guy say he saw a hitodama in an old abandoned school" he said. "We're going to check it out this evening."

"Why bother Hibino?" Ichijou asked as he walked up, nodding at Yamana as he did so. "He probably just imagined it. Besides it would be trespassing."

"What's the problem? Ore-sama just wants to take a look around" he replied nonchalantly. He grinned smugly as he added, "But if you're scared Ichijou then you don't have to come."

Ichijou bristled but before he could reply Yamana said, "I'll come too. It could be interesting."

"Okay I'll be there" he said reluctantly.

"Good" said Hibino. "We'll meet up at seven o'clock. See you then."

"See you" Yamana replied.

As Hibino strolled away Ichijou muttered, "this is a wild goose chase."

"You never know. We've met ghosts before" she pointed out.

"True" he admitted. "But it's not likely to happen twice."

"I know but someone needs to keep Hibino out of trouble" she replied. She smiled and added, "besides if you didn't go he'd never let you hear the end of it."

"Yeah, thanks Yamana" he said.

"Anytime."

* * *

That evening the three of them were standing outside the Tokugawa school building. Although closed down it was still in good condition and despite the dim light it had an overall quaint appearance.

"How disappointing" said Hibino disdainfully. "It doesn't look scary at all."

"That's a good thing Hibino" said Ichijou.

"If there are ghosts here maybe they're friendly" Yamana suggested.

"I hope not. Ore-sama came here for action, not to get all cuddly" Hibino scoffed. "Anyway let's go."

With that he marched up to the double doors, opened them with a hefty kick and strode through. Ichijou and Yamana followed him in.

Inside was a plain tile floor, green walls and rows of shoe lockers. Hibino took out a flashlight and ran its beam over them. Content that there was nothing there he turned to the others.

"Right, this is the plan. Stick together and no going off alone. Ore-sama has seen horror movies."

"For once I agree" replied Ichijou.

"Good thinking Hibino" said Yamana.

"Of course it is" he said with a grin.

They proceded down a corridor, Hibino in front, then Yamana and Ichijou at the back. All three of them had brought flashlights but had decided to only use Hibino's for now. Its beam lit up the hallway in front of them to reveal more of the same green walls and tile floor.

As they were walking past a window there was a sudden tapping sound. They all spun around to see that a tree branch was lightly knocking against the window.

"Ha! What did Ore-sama tell you?" Hibino said eagerly as he pointed at it.

Ichijou rolled his eyes. "That's just the wind" he said.

CRASH!

Startled, the three of them looked back down the corridor. Hibino pointed his flashlight, allowing them to see what had happened. One of the empty shoe lockers had toppled over and was now laying on the floor.

"I suppose that was just the wind eh Ichijou?" Hibino said mockingly.

Before he could retort Yamana called, "Hibino, Ichijou, look over there."

They turned to look in the direction she was pointing. Floating silently in mid-air just a few metres away was a blue fireball the size of a tennis ball. The three of them stared at it in astonishment.

"You were right Hibino. It is a hitodama" said Ichijou.

"Naturally" he replied smugly.

As they watched the hitodama split into two, becoming a pair of fireballs They then split again and again until there were over a dozen of them. Without making a sound they began to arrange themselves into kanji.

"They're trying to talk to us" said Yamana, her eyes filled with wonder.

Hibino grinned as the hitodama spelled out something very familiar. "My name! Clearly it realises Ore-sama's greatness!"

His grin disappeared a moment later when the message was finished. Written in floating fireballs were the words "Hibino is lame." Yamana suppressed a giggle while Ichijou started laughing his head off. He fell silent as Hibino spun around and glared at him furiously before turning back to the hitodama.

"Ore-sama will get you!" he roared.

The fireballs instantly condensed back into a single hitodama that sped away. Enraged he chased after it.

"Hibino wait!" Ichijou cried but Hibino ignored him and continued his pursuit. Ichijou and Yamana hastily took out their own flashlights and ran after him. The chase led them through a series of twists and turns.

They raced around a corner and promptly skidded to a halt. In front of them was a long hallway with several corridors leading off from it. There was no sign of either Hibino or the hitodama.

"So much for no going off alone" said Ichijou irritated. "Nice one Hibino."

"He can't be that far away" said Yamana. "Come on, we have to find him."

* * *

Hibino for his part was still too angry to notice he'd gotten separated from Yamana and Ichijou. His entire focus was on teaching the little fireball a lesson. Unfortunately he seemed to be getting no closer to it no matter how fast he ran.

The hitodama suddenly took a sharp turn and flew through an open door. Hibino's furious scowl became a fierce grin.

"You can't hide from Ore-sama!"

He rushed in to find that the room was some kind of chemistry or biology classroom. There was an empty glass cabinet that had once held chemicals, a blackboard and numerous workbenches with gas pumps used to fuel Bunsen burners. In one corner was a model skeleton.

Hibino looked around but saw no sign of the hitodama. "Come out and face Ore-sama" he growled.

His head whipped around as blue flames began to flicker over the model skeleton. With a sudden jerk it came to life, raised its arms and began walking towards him.

"Now that's more like it" said Hibino, his grin returning. He easily dodged a few clumsy swipes and landed a punch that sent the skeleton's head flying off. It bounced off a wall and rolled to a stop as its body collapsed.

"That'll teach you" said Hibino. He turned to leave but stopped as he heard movement behind him and spun around to see the model skeleton getting up. It picked up its head, reattached it and started towards him again.

"Ore-sama will have to be more thorough" said Hibino. He pulled out his baseball bat and lunged forwards. With just a few blows he reduced the skeleton to a pile of smashed pieces.

"And that is that."

As he turned to leave he felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over him. He had to lean on a workbench for support as his legs almost gave out.

"What is this? Why does Ore-sama feel so tired all of a sudden? Ah it's probably nothing, just one too many late nights playing video games. Better find Ichijou and Yamana."

He left the room. Had he looked at his reflection in the glass cabinet he would have noticed the bags that had appeared under his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile Ichijou and Yamana were wandering through another corridor while looking for Hibino. So far they had found nothing but more of the same green walls and plain tile floors.

"Hibino! Hibino!" Yamana called.

"Damn it. At this rate we'll have to search the whole school" Ichijou complained.

"I hope he's okay" she said.

"He'll be fine. I'm more worried about that hitodama if he catches it."

She giggled at that and he smiled.

He opened a door and looked inside to see a large room with rows of tables and chairs. There was a row of cupboards along one wall.

"The cafeteria. Maybe he's in here" he said.

 _It would be just like Hibino to try and pry something out of a vending machine and get so focused on it he didn't even hear us_ he thought as they both entered the cafeteria. He looked around and spotted a tall figure standing in a shadowy corner.

"There he is! Hibino, come on. It's time to go."

The figure did not answer.

"Hibino, quit messing around!" Ichijou yelled as he marched towards him. He pointed his flashlight at the figure…

And his jaw dropped.

"The… there's nothing there."

As he stood frozen in disbelief he didn't notice as a table floated up into the air. Without warning it shot towards him!

"Look out!" Yamana cried.

She leapt forwards and tackled him out of the table's way. They both landed on the floor as it sailed past the spot where he'd just been standing and crashed loudly into a wall. They stared at the table with wide eyes as they got up.

"Thanks" he said.

"It's okay" she replied.

Before either of them could say anything else the remaining tables and chairs also floated upwards. Ichijou and Yamana ran for the door as the furniture began flying at them, hitting the wall with a series of clatters and crashes as it missed them. They made it through the door and Ichijou slammed it shut before they raced down the corridor.

A moment later and he came to a stop, panting and gasping for breath. Yamana also stopped and looked at him in concern as he put a hand on a wall.

"What's wrong Ichijou?"

"I need to catch my breath" he replied, his chest heaving.

"But we didn't run that far" she pointed out.

"I know but I feel like I've just run a marathon."

She took a closer look at him and her eyes widened as she noticed the bags under his eyes.

"Ichijou you look exhausted."

"What?" He looked at his reflection in a window and his jaw dropped at how tired he looked.

"There's something strange going on here. We've got to find Hibino and get out fast!"

* * *

Hibino wearily trudged down the hallway. His limbs felt heavy and his eyelids were drooping. He shook his head to try and clear away the haze that was fogging his mind.

"Damn that Ichijou" he muttered crossly. "He'd better appreciate Ore-sama looking for him like this. Next time he complains about something he'll get reminded that Ore-sama could have just left him and gone home."

A sudden loud crashing filled his ears. Startled by the noise he looked up.

"Ichijou! Yamana!"

He started running, his fatigue momentarily pushed back by a surge of adrenaline.

* * *

"Oh great, we're right back where we started" Ichijou groaned as the beam from his flashlight illuminated a row of shoe lockers. "Now what…?"

His words were interrupted as his knees buckled. Yamana caught him just before he collapsed.

"Ichijou!"

He tried to reply but managed only a low groan as he leaned on her. She was shocked by how pale and haggard he looked.

"That's it. We need to get you out of here" she said firmly.

"What's going on here?" said a welcome voice.

"Hibino" said Yamana. Her relieved expression was replaced with concern as she noticed how slowly and erratically he was walking. When he got closer she saw that he was as pale and listless as Ichijou.

Hibino peered at them with sunken eyes. "You look like ***** Ichijou."

"Same to you" he replied weakly.

"Nonsense. Ore-sama is perfectly…"

He yawned and looked about to doze off for a second before shaking his head to stay awake. "Anyway, Ore-sama has taught that fireball not to insult him so we can go now…"

He collapsed, hitting the floor like a falling oak tree.

"Hibino!" Yamana and Ichijou cried.

He pushed himself up and lifted his head. "Something's wrong."

"You think?" Ichijou said, the sarcasm in his voice evident despite his tiredness as Yamana continued to support him.

Hibino glared at him and was about to retort when the hitodama suddenly reappeared. Just like before it was floating several metres away from them, but now it had grown to the size of a basketball. Its blue light cast flickering shadows on the walls.

"Back for more eh?" Hibino said. "This time you won't get off so lightly." He tried to get up but his limbs trembled and he sank down again.

"Wait a minute" said Ichijou. He looked at the blue fireball again and something clicked. "That's not a hitodama, it's an onibi."

"What's the difference?" Hibino asked irritably.

"Onibi are resentful spirits. They suck out the life-energy of humans. That's why we're so drained."

"Yamana, get Ichijou out of here" said Hibino firmly. "Ore-sama will be fine."

"No way, we can't leave you" Ichijou said weakly.

Yamana glanced back and forth between them as she tried to decide whether to get Ichijou out or not. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait a minute. Why isn't it working on me?"

Baffled looks appeared on Hibino and Ichijou's faces as they realised she was right. She looked down at the pentacle necklace she wore and remembered what she had said earlier.

"That's it! An ancient symbol of balance and protection!" she exclaimed.

Yamana gently set Ichijou down on the floor and quickly took out two more pentacles. She put one around his neck then hurried over to Hibino and put the other one on him.

The effect was almost immediate. Both of them stood up, all traces of their previous fatigue gone as they were rejuvenated.

"That's better" Hibino said, his usual grin back in place. "Good thinking Yamana."

"Thank you" Ichijou added.

She smiled. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

They turned to face the onibi and Hibino cracked his knuckles.

"Now you're for it. Nobody steals my life-energy and gets away with it!"

The onibi began to grow, swelling in size and sprouting limbs. Within seconds it had become a tall humanoid figure made up entirely of flickering blue flames. Hibino's grin didn't waver.

"Take cover, both of you. Ore-sama will handle this."

"Okay."

Ichijou and Yamana ducked behind a row of shoe lockers. They watched as the onibi pulled back its arm and hurled a fireball at Hibino. He dodged and the fireball exploded as it hit a wall, leaving a black scorch mark.

Hibino reached behind his back and pulled out a metal pentacle the size of a dinner plate which he gripped in his fist as if it was a hula-hoop.

At the sight of it the onibi began hurling fireballs frantically. He nimbly dodged each one as he charged forwards and drove the pentacle right into the fiery creature's chest. The onibi froze in place and then just disappeared, like a candle that had been put out.

"Ha! Ore-sama wins again!" Hibino crowed.

"That's great" said Ichijou as he and Yamana stepped out from behind the shoe lockers. "Now can we call it a night and get out of here?"

"What's wrong? Still tired?" Hibino laughed. "Ore-sama's just getting warmed up…"

He stopped and yawned deeply. He shook his head and went on, "then again there's no point in hanging around now that the fight's over. Let's go."

* * *

The next day Hibino, Yamana and Ichijou were strolling through town while discussing the events of the previous night.

"Last night was exciting, don't you think?" Hibino asked.

"Exciting? We had our life energy sucked out!" Ichijou exclaimed. "If it hadn't been for Yamana and her necklaces we'd have been finished."

"I'm just glad there were some left over" she replied. "They were really popular."

"Well if anymore of those little blue fireballs turn up Ore-sama will…"

Hibino stopped as he saw something that looked a bit like one of the little blue fireballs he had just mentioned in a shop window. He scowled and immediately started marching towards it, fists clenched. Ichijou and Yamana hastily took hold of one arm each to stop him.

"Hibino! Look it's just a plasma ball!"

He looked closer and saw that it was indeed a harmless plasma ball. They let go of his arms as he calmed down.

"Yes of course. Just testing you Ichijou."

"Sure" Ichijou replied, not in the mood to start anything.

"Come on. Ore-sama feels like some ramen."

As they walked away a thoughtful look appeared on Ichijou's face. A moment later he smiled slyly.

"What are you thinking about?" Yamana asked.

"I just remembered a prank my cousin Imai once pulled" he whispered to her. "It involved a few harmless chemicals that made a blue flame…"

She giggled and whispered back, "you know Hibino will go berserk with you."

"It'll be worth it to see his face."

"Oi! What are you two whispering about?" Hibino asked in annoyance.

"We're just discussing my last concert" Ichijou replied.

"Ore-sama's not interested in that" he said, turning away with a snort. He didn't notice the amused looks that passed between Ichijou and Yamana as the three of them continued on their way.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I have taken a few liberties but hitodama and onibi are based on actual Japanese folklore.

Ichijou's reference to "cousin Imai" is from "Kyo Kare Ore Wa!" and to a prank Imai pulled on Mitsuhashi there.


End file.
